Monday, February 6, 2017

Reading Note :” Thirty years of structural adjustment … – guineenews

For the first steps in writing, the economist Nasser Keïta takes a critical look at the various structural adjustment programmes that the Republic of Guinea has known since 1986. His work entitled ” Thirty years of structural adjustment in Guinea “, published by the home canadian-German Presses Académiques Francophones (PAF), is not only a basic document prepared by an expert of high-level and intended to the historians of economic science ; it provides an original analysis of what has been, for a country in search of prosperity, the framing of the different economic policies in Guinea after the era of Sékou Touré.

Before addressing the heart of the book, Dr. Nasser Keita revisits the economic programs conducted by the different governments before the outbreak of the military in April 1984 following a coup. With a hint of nostalgia, he recalls the great ambitions of colonial France – and of his representative, the governor Rolland Pre – finally broken by the ” no ” of 1958, which has radically changed the destiny of Guinea. Vexed by the “affront” of Conakry, the General de Gaulle has actively worked for the failure of the new masters of the Republic of Guinea recalling brutally cooperating in exerting diplomatic pressure from potential partners in the country, by disrupting the administration and depriving the country of the financial resources essential to start on good bases . “The Guinea voted ” No “to more than 98%, and asked France to him to arrange cooperation agreements which were denied to “punish” the bad example ! This was the beginning of an embargo is not stated, and of a psychological war, which led Guinea for the political consequences quite disastrous. France imposes its veto to the accession of Guinea to the United Nations, before the recognize definitively in 1959 “, stresses the author.

And, later, the economic policy developed by the Democratic Party of Guinea (PDG), with the four plans prepared by the authorities of the time, had almost no chance to bring the country out of poverty. Dr Keïta is sifting the various plans for development in making a determination relentless : the willingness of their authors, masked evil, the insufficiency of their preparation. It is in these conditions that intervened, the change of April 1984, following the demise of president Ahmed Sékou Touré.

The difficulties of carrying out the recovery of the country will throw Guinea and its military leaders into the arms of the international monetary Fund (IMF) with its methods guidelines, in spite of a semblance of dialogue between the guinean government and the Bretton Woods institution. The author raises a corner of the veil on the preparation of which will lead to the first phase of the transition (1986-1988). Selected pieces :

The measures prior to implementation primarily aimed at a major overhaul of institutional structures, and an adjustment massif of the official exchange rate to align it on the parallel market. To illustrate the effect of “punch” desired by the IMF, recall that the mission arrived on October 28, 1984 in Conakry and wanted a response on the broad guidelines prior to the November 3, and the outlet of the main measures including the devaluation prior to November 15, 1984.

It is obvious that the “package” offered and delivered by the IMF, behind a very skill problems, vehicle an ideological choice and a policy that is not neutral, and that a good many States, including Guinea in October, have not resolved to do.

Because in this specific case, the evidence of the lack of preparation is devastated. And the observation is not trivial ; the arrival of the IMF in Guinea in conditions that are as random as offering a regime of exception, the taxpayer argued not at all in favour of the relevance of the “recommendations” of the institution and, aggravating circumstance, it is precisely this lack of preparation and thoroughness that the Fund was supposed to correct “, insists Dr. Keita. The tone is set !

Point by Point, the details of the various programs (including the one signed in 2012 and concluded in 2016, the only one of all to have been completed) are passed under the fork yoke to an economist who has the merit of presenting a clear vision and courageous of the facts while demonstrating a high objectivity in criticism.

a Holder of a PHD in economics, Nasser Keita is one of the few econometricians guineans. His admirable thesis titled “The transmission mechanism of monetary policy in the Republic of Guinea” has also been published by the editions PAF.

Saliou SAMB

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